


The Bolt Chronicles: Background Information

by Bolt_DMC



Category: Bolt (2008)
Genre: Explanations, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 03:01:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20400592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bolt_DMC/pseuds/Bolt_DMC
Summary: A general background on the series. Contains no story content. Caution: spoiler alerts.





	The Bolt Chronicles: Background Information

First, a hearty thanks to Plonq. His comments and recommendations have been extremely valuable, and have improved these stories greatly. As I’ve mentioned to him, whenever I get a story back with his suggestions, it’s like opening a Christmas present.

My stories assume a basic knowledge of the film "Bolt” and its characters. A good plot synopsis is found at Wikipedia. Having seen the film is helpful but perhaps not required, as they are written with an eye towards fandom-blind reading. I discovered this movie at the very beginning of 2018, and the stories were written during that year and the next two beginning in mid-February.

With the exception of the brief opening and closing sections, the movie appears to take place during a stretch of time running at most between late September and early November of 2008, for certain during parts of October. It's clear that Bolt (the dog) is 5 years old and his owner Penny is 13 at that time. No exact ages are given for Mittens (the cat), Rhino (the hamster), or Penny’s mom here, though 4 years old and 1 year old seem likely for the animals and Penny’s mom was probably born in the late 1960s or early 1970s given her daughter’s age.

Except for “The Seven” and “The Survivor” (which are backstories respectively for Bolt and Mittens) and “The Box” and “The Seer” (which occur during the film itself), these are set after the movie ends. Bolt and Penny have by now left the TV show they starred in and they, Mittens, Rhino, and Penny’s mom have moved to a farmhouse with ample surrounding land and a barn in an undisclosed rural location. The film and end credit vignettes suggest it's a place that has sunflower fields, supports pigeons as wild birds, and gets enough winter snow to allow downhill sledding. The tales vary in tone, from comedic (ranging from dark to farcical) to serious (sometimes darkly so) to sentimental in nature, and sometimes mix approaches. I’ve produced 27 of them so far, and have ideas for at least a few more. They run chronologically, currently happening between 2002 and 2023, though mostly during 2009 and 2010. In several cases, they could be read out of order, though it's ideal perhaps not to. They occur as follows:

2002-2003  
The Seven

2004-2008  
The Survivor

2008  
The Box  
The Seer

2009  
The Blood Brother  
The Mall  
The Wedding Reception  
The Paris Trip  
The Funkmeister  
The Murder Mystery

2010  
The Ski Trip  
The Cakes  
The Wind  
The Ship  
The Walk

2011  
The Cameo  
The Baseball Game  
The Spaceship

2012  
The Makeover  
The Kippies

2013  
The Autobiography  
The Imaginary Letters  
The Car

2016  
The Coyote

2019  
The Coffee Shop

2020  
The Rings

2023-?  
The Gift

The term “Ship” is fanfiction lingo for a story that romantically pairs up characters who didn’t do so in the officially produced work. I initially resisted the idea of doing so for Bolt and Mittens, but relented after seeing how unsatisfactory much of the existing fanfiction dealing with this was and saw an opportunity to (hopefully) do so more convincingly. I will not ship any of the other canon characters with each other.

Some may take issue with my nightmarish conception of Mittens’s first owners, but I think it’s entirely plausible they may have been like this. After all, they did declaw and abandon her, and the cat’s distrust of humans and a home life in the film is strong. It would also explain her combination of a brittle, snarky exterior and kindly core, as well as her trust and abandonment issues. In brief, I’m not convinced her first owners were simply guilty of benign neglect.

As in the film, the animals can talk to each other but not to humans, though “The Murder Mystery” and “The Gift” play with this idea.

I derive great joy from inserting cultural references (sometimes extensive) in these stories, usually as plot touchstones or for use as symbolism, and frequently choose what I consider high quality examples ranging from the well-known to the obscure. Experiencing the artistic/cultural examples is welcome and encouraged, in some cases a useful enhancement to reading. Like anyone else, my artistic and cultural taste has its predilections and biases. I humbly ask the reader’s indulgence for all this. I also derive humor out of such in-jokes as the dog not being able to remember John Travolta’s name during one of the stories, Penny expressing dislike for a hit song by Miley Cyrus in another, and Mittens referencing Inspector Gadget and “Hairspray” in two others. The presumption that Penny’s mom was a teacher of cultural appreciation classes does not come from the movie. My assumption that the three animals enjoy culture in its many forms strikes me as highly plausible given that:

\--all three, despite their foibles and eccentricities, seem highly intelligent and would likely become bored without continual mental stimulus.

\--all three enjoy watching television.

\--in the film, Mittens can read. Additionally, the end credit vignettes show Rhino and Bolt reading books alongside Penny and Mittens.

\--the end credit vignettes show Penny and the three pets indulging in home music-making, as well as Penny putting on a puppet show for the pets’ amusement.

I’ve assumed that Mittens prefers music and Bolt prefers visual art. Rhino will clearly watch almost anything that shows up on TV, so I’ve assumed that will extend to things like plays and musical theater. I’ve also assumed Penny shares their love of culture, with a preference for quality (usually retro-oriented for the time) pop music.

Bolt is supposedly an American white shepherd, though he’s far smaller despite having several of their characteristics; my thinking is that he’s mostly this breed though not purebred, likely with some ancestry of a smaller dog mixed in somewhere; the backstory I’ve written assumes his father (whose description is intentionally meant to be a dead-ringer for Bolt) is mainly American white shepherd with some Berger Blanc Suisse and Hinks bull terrier mixed in, and his mother is a purebred American white shepherd. Nevertheless, I consistently refer to Bolt as a “shepherd” or “little shepherd” in the stories. Mittens is a short-haired tuxedo cat of undetermined breed, probably a domestic shorthair “mutt”; the tuxedo type of color pattern can actually be found in many breeds and mixes. Rhino is reportedly a Syrian (or golden) hamster.

The idea that Penny develops an interest in becoming a veterinarian is my own idea, though given her love of animals, it makes reasonable sense.

With the exception of Mindy Parker (usually referred to in the movie with the trailing qualifier “from the network”), none of the other film’s human characters are named. They appear in only four stories, “The Wedding Reception” and “The Rings” (the actor who plays villain Dr. Calico, and as a speaking character only in the first of these), "The Cameo" (the Director and Mindy Parker), and “The Murder Mystery” (all the TV show’s personnel from the film, except for the Director). Following the example of the fine Bolt fanfiction author PenNameSmith, I’ve decided to refer to them by the first name of the voice actor who portrays them for the most part. The film’s supporting non-human characters, some named and others not, also appear in a few stories (“The Murder Mystery,” “The Seer,” “The Survivor”). Several characters found in other stories (“The Wind,” “The Paris Trip,” “The Coffee Shop,” “The Rings,” “The Survivor,” “The Seven,” “The Baseball Game,” “The Blood Brother,” “The Mall,” “The Autobiography,” "The Cameo," “The Spaceship,” “The Coyote,” and “The Gift,” most notably) are my own idea, though the black cat from “The Paris Trip” is hinted to be a distant descendant of Berlioz from “The Aristocats.”

An interesting aspect of the film is how Bolt and Mittens change over the course of time, both undergoing significant heel-face turns from when we first encounter them. The end of the film shows them beginning to develop their changed personalities, though there’s plenty of leeway one can take in determining just what the finished product might eventually be. My take:

Bolt: when we first see him, he’s in an unusually aberrant state of mind. He’s actually quite unlikable, an angry and paranoid conspiracy theorist, as well as a racist regarding cats. He takes himself far too seriously and thinks more highly of himself than is warranted. He has utterly no social skills or sense of humor, and is a poor listener who doesn’t readily accept advice; he’s stubborn and learns things the hard way. He’s impatient and fiercely intense, believing the ends justify the means. Except for Penny, he does not sense others well and has no friends. He’s resourceful and a risk taker; while very intelligent, his judgment is highly suspect. He’s focused to the point of obsession. He talks to himself a lot. He’s no stranger to superhero lingo (“Target acquired,” “Degenerate creature of darkness,” “Fiendish puppet master”) and his speech is peppered with it. Underneath it all, he’s sensitive and kind, but has had to sublimate it. My thinking is that much of this dissipates or is scaled back after his change. I see him in some ways as a dog version of Sheldon Cooper without the mean streak. He still has problems sensing others besides Penny, but at least tries hard to relate to others now. He will still do literally anything for those few he cares deeply about, with Mittens and Rhino joining Penny in this select circle. The sensitivity and kindness now come to the fore with him. He’s still very humor challenged and literal to a fault -- but makes the effort not to be, though not often successfully. As he gets older, he becomes somewhat more humor aware. He’s still a risk-taker at times and suffers from poor judgment periodically. He still talks to himself, though the superhero lingo has vanished from his vocabulary. He’s athletic and (mostly) remains in great shape into old age. He develops a love of culture and the arts over time, branching from films and television shows into visual art, music, and literature, with the first of these as his passion. In a later story, it is revealed that he passed away in 2021 at the age of eighteen.

Mittens: when we first meet her, she’s also in an unusually aberrant state of mind. She’s not especially likeable either, a bitter, cynical, pessimistic hustler who doesn’t trust or love anyone. She’s very much “me first.” She’s snarky and verbally caustic to a fault. She’s an often fear-ridden sort who is risk-averse. She’s far more worldly-wise and pragmatic than Bolt, and has a much better sense of judgment. Like the dog, she’s very intelligent and resourceful. Unlike Bolt, who has few friends because he doesn’t relate to others well, Mittens has few friends because she lacks trust, due at least in part to severe abandonment issues. She understands others far better than the dog does and possesses the sense of humor he lacks, though the humor is snide. Underneath it all, she’s got a positive and kind streak. My thinking is that, as with Bolt, much of this dissipates or is scaled back. I see her in some ways as a cat version of Chandler Bing. She still has few friends, but at least does have some now, and has grown to trust and like Penny and her mom. She’s still verbally snarky and often critical, but more as a residual defense mechanism; besides, I suspect she relishes the role of wisecracker. She has a razor sharp sense of humor and is the most likely of the three pets to complain about things. She’s still the least likely to take a risk of the three pets, though she’s not so fearful nowadays. Still, it holds her back sometimes. She’s still perceptive and senses others quite well. Best of all, she’s not as self-centered as before. She too develops a love of culture, branching from films and television into music, visual art, and literature, with the first of these as her passion. In a later story, it is revealed that she passed away in 2023 at the age of nineteen.

Rhino: when we first meet him, he shares some traits with Bolt. He’s intelligent, intense to the point of hyperactivity, and demonstrative to the point of being over-the-top hammy. He’s an altruistic dreamer with a sense of adventure. He can be risk-taking to the point of recklessness, the most likely of the three to bungee jump or shoot white water rapids if he could. He’s utterly fearless. As sheltered in his own way as the dog, he firmly believes that what he sees on television is real -- needless to say, his grasp of reality in general is tenuous. He’s as fiercely devoted to his friends as Bolt. His thinking process is fatally flawed by his failure to grasp reality well, but he surprisingly possesses a strong sense of values, the most well-developed of the three in this regard. He loves watching television. My thinking is that he changes the least of the three. He gradually releases the notion that what he sees on television is real, though still sometimes has issues along these lines. He has a well-developed if perhaps unusual sense of humor, and is a worthy verbal sparring partner to the cat. He’s fully devoted to his new family and friends and wants the best for them. He remains utterly fearless, though he’s generally not as excitable as in the film. His judgment, while not infallible, is often spot on, and he senses others reasonably well, if sometimes eccentrically. In these stories, he often serves as conscience or advice-giver to Bolt and Mittens, or plays the sage idiot. He too loves culture, eventually coming to appreciate visual art, music, and literature, though television and movies remain his passion. But he will watch most anything that shows up on the tube, including plays and musical theater. In a later story, it is revealed that he passed away in 2011 at the age of four.

While I’ve tried to retain a significant number of animal-appropriate traits for all three characters, this has its limits. For example, Bolt in these stories cannot safely consume things like coffee or chocolate as is true of real-life pooches, but he is able to cry and shed tears, something humans can do but actual dogs cannot.

Penny: like all the humans in this film, we know only a minimal amount about her. In the movie, she seems active, energetic, and tomboyish (what the TV Tropes site would call an “Action Girl”) at least in her on-stage persona. She’s as devoted to Bolt as much as he is to her, and clearly cares about his well-being -- which she rightly fears is being undermined severely by his treatment at the studio. She appears to be intelligent and have a reasonable sense about others. She isn’t one to stand on ceremony, dressing casually in t-shirts (usually a short sleeve one over a long sleeve one), sneakers, and rolled cuff jeans when off set. She is pragmatic enough to do the right thing when needed, for example continuing to shoot the show with Bolt’s replacement when he hasn’t returned -- though she’s not necessarily happy about it. My thinking is that she continues to exhibit these traits. She’s to a fair extent an “Action Girl” in real life, and likes to do such things as downhill ski and go for long walks/runs with Bolt. In addition, she’s now in school, and has many of the same concerns about fitting in that most kids her age do. She loves animals, and in these stories, she later becomes a veterinarian. She’s aware that she’s a little unusual for liking math and science in school and in listening to jazz, classical, and older pop music, and senses that her classmates consider her eccentric as a result. She did not let fame go to her head, and in fact chafes a bit under the weight of her past notoriety at times. While well-meaning, she sometimes has age-related lapses of judgment such as forgetting to put Bolt on a leash when it’s required. She remains devoted to Bolt and almost has a “sixth sense” about him because she knows him so well, sometimes using him as a sounding board when she needs to talk about something. She has also grown to love Mittens and Rhino. Their well-being is very important to her. We know nothing about her father in the film, and that continues here. Like most teen girls, she’s exploring the world of boys but wants very much to find the right guy someday. As she gets older, she first comes to terms with her burgeoning sexual awareness, then later becomes immersed in her studies and work, continuing to date but less frequently. She eventually develops a kind of informal neo-slacker casual look when not in a veterinarian’s lab coat.

Penny’s mom: what little we know about her in the film suggests she’s caring and devoted to Penny. She supports her daughter’s TV career and seems to lack the overbearing negatives that stage mothers stereotypically possess. Her accent hints at a possible Midwest-based upbringing (Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota or thereabouts). She’s very overweight. My thinking is that this continues unchanged. In my stories, she was a cultural appreciation teacher before Penny went into show business, coming to this career path from a summer backpacking trip she took through Europe. She was a member of her high school chorus and has a good singing voice, though she rarely displays this in public anymore. She encourages Penny to experience culture as well. Even after leaving the show, Penny’s mom feels compelled to cultivate the girl’s professional legacy and reputation. She’s still a parent, though, and doesn’t hesitate to punish the girl appropriately if she misbehaves. She really enjoys food and has trouble losing weight, even though she definitely needs to. She loves all three pets, but thinks of them far less anthropomorphically than Penny -- in that sense being a bit of what the Harry Potter books would call a muggle.

-Bolt_DMC


End file.
